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December 29, 2014

Travel Hacking Year End Checklist: Here is What You Need to Do Before January 1st

Year end is here and as such, there are several calendar year opportunities that you want to make sure you’ve taken advantage of before Thursday. Additionally, there are some limited time opportunities that may not be around much longer, so I’ve included those items below as well.

The clock is ticking...

The clock is ticking…

Here is a list of items you want to make sure you’ve taken care of before the clock strikes midnight on December 31st.

1. Spend the $200 American Express Platinum Airline Credit – Each calendar year, Amex Platinum cardholders (both personal and business) get a $200 airline credit to spend toward fees on a specified airline. You must first select the airline here and if you made a selection last year, it is automatically carried forward for 2014 (you can change this selection once a year in January). Even though the official language regarding this credit is meant to cover baggage fees, lounge passes etc., I always buy gift cards to make sure I fulfill this $200 credit, since I wouldn’t complete it on fees alone. Buying $50 Delta e-gift cards or $100 American Airlines gift cards does the trick. 

2. Spend the $300 Ritz Carlton Credit Card Travel Credit – Similar to the Amex Platinum above, the Ritz Carlton credit card offers $300 annually in travel credit for baggage fees, lounge passes, seat upgrades and other fees, but with two key differences: 1) The $300 credit can cover multiple charges from different airlines and 2) You have to call in to request reimbursement. This second part makes it a little trickier to use this credit for gift cards since they aren’t technically eligible for reimbursement and by having a person manually review every charge (as compared to the Amex Platinum where the credit is automatically generated) it is harder to get reimbursed for gift cards. There are two good threads that have some reports on people getting reimbursed for gift cards here and here. It seems buying gift cards in denominations of stated fees, such as pet fees and checked baggage fees have been working if you are willing to fudge the truth on what the charge is actually for if the agent asks. This is a YMMV scenario.

3. Book Hyatt My Elite Rate & Book via Hyatt Mobile App- I’ve covered this before but Hyatt is ending the My Elite Rate in 2015. If you have any known paid stays upcoming in 2015, you might want to lock in the My Elite Rate now and if you see it go cheaper or your plans change, you could always cancel as most My Elite Rates are cancelable up until a few days before the stay. In addition, the ability to earn 1,000 bonus points if you book a stay via the Hyatt mobile app is ending on 12/31.

4. Maximize Chase Freedom 4th Quarter 5% Bonus – The Chase Freedom Q4 5% Bonus is Amazon.com, Zappos.com and select Department stores. In these categories you will earn 5% cash back up to $1,500 in spend in these categories.  I’m a big Amazon shopper so I will always stock up on Amazon gift cards when the 5% bonus is active on the Freedom card to make sure I hit the $1,500 in spend. You could take a similar approach for department stores or Zappos by buying gift cards for future purchases.

5. Apply for the US Airways MasterCard  – I’m technically cheating on this one since I believe this offer will be around after 12/31 but now is a great time to apply for the US Airways MasterCard. This card is going away at some point in early 2015 (maybe January 18th?) and this is the final call to earn a signup bonus on this card. The current offers are 50,000 miles after first purchase that is valid for everyone and an offer targeted for Preferred Members that offers the same 50,000 miles + 10,000 miles upon renewal. I’ve heard several reports that if you apply for the offer meant for Preferred members but you aren’t a Preferred member and you do not get automatically approved, Barclays will no longer approve you for this offer if you call the reconsideration line. In that case, I recommend going for the standard 50,000 offer and remember there is a refer a friend offer ongoing.

6. Earn 500 Free Points from Virgin America – This is a pretty easy 500 points for a minute of work but this offer expires on 12/31. Here is the link to the offer as well as my write-up on the offer.

7. Check Your American Express Offers – Many good deals expire on 12/31/14 including $10 off Uber, $15 off Toys R Us, and others. If you didn’t register for some of these offers earlier, they may not appear in your account now and others were more targeted. However, for the ones you do have, check to see if any expiring 12/31 offers are worth taking advantage of.

8. Try to Earn 1,000 Free Hilton HHonors Points – Hilton HHonors is running a targeted promotion that gives users 1,000 free HHonors points for updating your email address. I wasn’t targeted as I got a message indicating they had my email address on file. This offer expires on 12/31 so I think its worth a minute of your time to see if your account is eligible for a free 1,000 points.

9. Take 10% off Hyatt Stays with Hyatt Gift Cards – I’ve discussed this deal previously and while the expiration date for this promotion isn’t known, it is widely assumed to be 12/31/14.

I’m sure I missed something here. What else are you doing before year end? Thanks to PointChaser for inspiration of this post.

December 17, 2014

Save 20% When Redeeming Points on Southwest!

Southwest just sent me an email with a unique promo code offering me the opportunity to use 20% fewer points when redeeming them for a Southwest award flight. This might be targeted but make sure to check your inbox (and junk folders in case) for an email for your code.

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Reading the terms and conditions, here are the key details:

1. Flights must be booked by December 22, 2014.

2. Valid for roundtrip travel only from January 6th to February 12th. There are blackout dates around MLK weekend from January 16-19.

3. The 20% point savings is only valid for Wanna Getaway Fares purchased 7 days in advance (aka the cheapest level of fares).

4. Valid only on domestic flights and flights to Puerto Rico. No international flights included.

This promotion should work with those using the companion pass as well as I don’t see anything in the terms of conditions preventing that. I’m not in front of a computer to test this but I wonder if it is possible to get the discount on one flight if one falls outside the range (i.e depart Feb 11 but return Feb 13 after travel window is over).

Share your experience if you got an email with a code. I don’t think I’ll use mine so I’ll raffle it off to anyone to who comments by Friday night the 19th, 11:59pm EST. There is no guarantee this code will work if used outside my account (basically I don’t know if the codes are linked to a specific account and will only work for points used in that account) but if it does, someone will get my code.

December 17, 2014

Point & Center: 50,000 SkyMiles Offer on Delta Gold Amex, Free Gogo Internet for American Express Business Platinum Cardholders, New IHG “Set Your Sights” Promotion & IHG Buys Kimpton Hotels

It’s only Wednesday but it feels like a lot is going on in the points and miles world this week. Here is a quick summary of some items I haven’t blogged about yet.

1. 50,000 SkyMiles Offer on the Delta Gold American Express – With the new rules from American Express limiting a signup bonus to only once a lifetime for each personal card, it makes sense to only apply for a card now from American Express when the offer is at its peak. Currently, for one week only, the Delta Gold Amex (and the business card as well) is increased to a 50,000 mile offer if you spend $1,000 in 3 months.

DeltaGold50k

This is the highest offer I can remember is quite some time but here are they key details of the offer:

  • 50,000 miles after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
  • $50 statement credit after first purchase with Delta in the first 3 months
  • Free checked bag and priority boarding on Delta flights
  • Annual Fee of $95 is waived for the first year
  • Offer expires December 21, 2014

If you are short on Delta miles or have a bunch of Delta flights upcoming in the next year and you want to avoid the checked bags fees, this card could make sense to get now when the offer is the highest. And with Delta introducing one ways awards starting 1/1, I’m hoping Delta miles get a bit easier to you though I’m not holding my breath on that.

Here is the link to the personal card.

Here is the link to the business card.

2. Free Gogo Internet for American Express Business Platinum Holders – Earlier this year, American Express added Boingo internet as a new benefit for personal Platinum cardholders and now they are following suit on the Business Platinum card by offering 10 Free Gogo internet passes annually. Gogo all day passes cost $16 so this benefit could be worth $160 annually if you fly enough. Just remember that Gogo is only on certain airlines including Air Canada, Alaska, American, Delta, United, US Airways & Virgin America (along with a few others).

3. New IHG Promotion “Set Your Sights” – IHG has been on a roll with unique, targeted promotions that have some real value to them if you are able to meet the stay requirements. They just announced their newest promotion, “Set Your Sights” in which each member has a list of requirements to meet to earn potentially 50,000+ points. My offer is below which I don’t think is all that great since it requires 5 nights minimum. I’ve seen offers where only 3 nights could meet all the criteria for the bonus points. Make sure to check out your offer and register for the promotion as it could be lucrative if it meets your travel plans.

IHGSetYourSights

4. IHG Buys Kimpton Hotels – In a potentially exciting move for IHG members, IHG has announced it has purchased the Kimpton boutique brand of hotels for $430 million dollars and will incorporate them under the IHG company. This is exciting because IHG members will eventually have the option to redeem points or the annual free night from the IHG credit card on Kimpton properties. Kimpton has 62 hotels, all in the US, but they are known for the uniqueness and willingness to provide great customer service. They have some great locations with exciting hotels including NYC, Aspen, and San Francisco.

I stayed in one in Phoenix for the #westcoastDO and had a nice stay while I was treated great as a top-tier Inner Circle member. My hope is the match top tier Inner Circle member to Ambassador status with IHG but it is too soon to tell how that will shake out.

December 15, 2014

And Now Lots of Hyatt News to Catchup On

I just caught up on the American Express news update but there is also lots going on with Hyatt right now. Here is a quick rundown of what is going on as I’m slowly catching up.

1. Hyatt Gold Passport 2015 Category Changes – Every year, Hyatt (and most other hotel chains) make some changes to their award program, mostly involving re-categorizing some hotels to either a higher or lower category. This year, Hyatt is the first chain to announce their changes and depending on how you redeem your Hyatt points, these changes are a mixed bag. In total, there are 48 hotels moving down a category (or more) and 22 hotels increasing a category. You have until January 22nd to make a reservation, even if it is for a future travel date, to lock in the lower points amount.

Click here to see the complete list of ALL Hyatt Gold Passport Category changes and as a reminder, here is what the Hyatt Award Chart looks like below.

HyattAwardChart

I won’t go over every hotel change but I’ll start with some of the key hotels decreasing by a category:

  • Park Hyatt Washington DC – Category 6 to Category 5
  • Gran Hyatt Washington DC – Category 5 to Category 4 (can now use annual free Hyatt night here)
  • Hyatt French Quarter – Category 5 to Category 4 (can now use annual free Hyatt night here)
  • Park Hyatt Chennani – Category 3 to Category 2

And here are some of the key hotels increasing by a category:

  • Park Hyatt Maldives – Category 6 to Category 7
  • Andaz Amsterdam – Category 5 to Category 6
  • Park Hyatt Seoul – Category 4 to Category 5 (can longer use annual free Hyatt night here)
  • Grand Hyatt Sao Paulo – Category 3 to Category 4
  • Hyatt Regency Nice – Category 5 to Category 6
  • Grand Hyatt at Bar Mar – Category 4 to Category 5 (this hotel hasn’t even opened yet!)

In short, even if the increases are only a few thousand points in some cases, if you have travel plans next year that involved one of these hotels, book the reservation now. Awards stays are cancelable up to a defined timeframe that varies per hotel (anywhere from a month to a few days before) so there is no downside to lock something in now. I am doing this with the Park Hyatt Maldives (stayed tuned for a future Award Trip Breakdown post on my Maldives trip next year).

2. Hyatt Eliminates My Elite Rate – If you were an elite member with Hyatt (and remember having the Hyatt Visa Card gives you Platinum elite status), you had access to hotel rates that were sometimes 20% lower than the daily rate via the My Elite Rate. Unfortunately, Hyatt is discontinuing this benefit in 2015. This was a new benefit rolled out in 2014 so the Hyatt corporate offices must have not deemed this worthy to repeat in 2015. If you booked a fair amount of paid stays with Hyatt, this could be a significant loss.

3. Points & Cash Awards Will Continue in 2015 – The other benefit Hyatt rolled out last year was allowing customers to book hotel rooms using fewer points with a set co-pay that varied based on the category level of the hotel. The good news is Hyatt is continuing this in 2015 and not making any adjustments to the Points & Cash award chart. I have taken advantage of this benefit several times at the Andaz Maui where a room only costs 12,500 points + $150 which is fantastic for a hotel that can average $600 a night, if not more. This is a great perk and I’m glad it is here to stay. As a reminder, here is what the Points & Cash Award Chart looks like below.

HyattP&C

4. Hyatt Guarantees Bed Type to All Customers – Previously, Hyatt only guaranteed the reserved bed type to elite customers so if you reserved a King bed, you would be guaranteed that upon arrival. However, per Hyatt, only 0.1% of all customers didn’t receive their reserved bed type so they are now guaranteeing the reserved bed type for all customers now, not just elite customers. This isn’t especially newsworthy since the odds are so small of it happening but it is a positive (albeit small impacting) change.